1927’s Golem may be one of the most brilliant theatre productions of this century. It is an accomplishment of epic proportions as they effortlessly mix arts, genres and media arriving at a thoroughly coherent and engaging original story written by Susanne Andrade, who also directs it.
At the same time it is a challenge to give an account of this production because it is such a complex artistic venture with multi-layered storytelling conducted not only through acting but also through live music, singing, dancing, animation, film projections and voiceover.
In a nutshell Golem is a cautionary yet hilarious tale about a young man, his sister, their grandmother and their friends, and their slow descent into uncurbed consumerism thanks to an invention of golems, domestic and workplace helpers controlled by a scary corporation. This strange story inspired by a novel by Gustav Mayrink hides a serious message of the production: the exploitation of labour force, materialism, dependence on technology and the consequences of progress.
Golem is a piece of avant-garde politically-engaged theatre without any demagogy. It shows brilliantly through the use of grotesque and absurd the dangers of post-industrial world controlled by corporations. There are many surprises in store for the audience and I will not reveal them. I have no doubt that the show’s cleverness, ingenuity and humour will make you want to see more of 1927’s productions next time they are in London.